Has Reform of Global Finance been Misconceived? Policy Documents and the Volcker Rule

AbstractThe focus from mainstream economics on the global financial crisis (GFC) has been relatively narrow, based on an underlying narrative and this focus has extended to and informed the majority of major institutionally commissioned reports, analyses, and pre-policy documents, which might collectively be termed an elite position. Specifically, there has been a focus on the role of neo-classically informed theory as a cause of the crisis. This has tended to reduce problems of economic theory to problems of neo-classical economics and this then has helped to shape the context of engagement with problems of the GFC. Much of the subsequent reform has been about preparing for failure rather than questioning why we have a system that fails and the issues here can be illustrated using the implementation of the Volcker Rule in the USA.